Kilmalkedar Church in ruins — Cill Maoilchéadair

National Monument No. 65. The Early Christian and Medieval ecclesiastical complex at Kilmalkedar (KE042-026----) lies at the foot of the W slopes of Reenconnell hill, overlooking Smerwick Harbour. The Reenconnell ridge peaks at 907 feet/276m to NE of the site and the area around Kilmalkedar is sheltered on its N and S sides by spurs of this hill. (8) (KE042-026008-) Kilmalkedar Church/Teampall na Cille Figs. 187 and 188: The similarity of the Romanesque church at Kilmalkedar to Cormac's chapel at Cashel has been commented on by Leask (1955, 123) who suggests a date shortly after 1134 for the erection of the smaller edifice. Comparative features include the tympanum on the W doorway and the blind arcading in the nave as well as common ornameNtal motifs. The present remains, situated near the E end of the graveyard, consist of a nave and chancel, the latter a subsequent addition replacing the original altar recess. The Nave: The walls survive to full height and rise to gables of steep pitch. The lower courses of a corbelled stone roof are preserved, springing externally from a projecting chamfered eaves course. Recesses for substantial purlins are visible on the interior of the E and W gables and suggest that an internal support structure of timber may have existed. The walls are built of dressed sandstone blocks, well-jointed and approaching ashlar construction in places. A band of yellow stone, at least 1m thick, is visible on the W gable, commencing at a height of c. 2m, and is returned on all sides of the nave. Above this, the walls are of more random construction, with coursed flags of thin section being widely used. A gap at the E end of the S wall has been repaired in modern times. The side walls are prolonged .24m in advance of the E and W gables to form antae, .5 to .55m in width, which continue as a barge-course for a short distance up the face of both gables. At eaves level, carved zoomorphic heads project outwards to the N and S and are crowned by a chamfered cornice returned along the N and S walls. Slightly inclining in elevation, the round-headed W doorway has jambs of 3 orders and is fitted externally with a projecting hood. The latter, colourfully executed in green and red stone, rests on moulded abaci and is fitted with carved animal head stops. A delicately carved anthropomorphic head forms the keystone of the hood and there is boss decoration on its chamfered arris. The 2 outer orders are filleted and wrought at the angles into engaged colonettes with lightly moulded bases and cushioned capitals. The arch ring of 1st order springs from moulded abaci and has chevrons on both face and soffit, meeting at the arris in a broad chevroned roll. The arch ring of 2nd order has deeply cut ribbon chevron and behind this a tympanum rests on jambs of square section. A much weathered animal head carved in high relief projects from the inner face of the tympanum, but the lack of ornament on the exterior surface suggests that it may originally have been painted. The doorway has a round-headed rear arch, and the jambs are rebated for a door, the drawbar socket for which survives on the S ingoing. The interior of the nave is raised c. 0.9m above the base of the doorway, probably due to burials, and a large overground tomb stands against the S wall. The N and S walls are divided into blind bays by half round columns with respond pilasters at the E and W angles. The columns, five on each side, rest on a slightly projecting chamfered string course; the roll and hollow-moulded bases have spur ornaments of leaf at the face angles, and the capitals are scalloped. The rectangular bays are crowned by a double chamfered cornice interrupted on the 5th bay eastwards by the arched heads of 2 opposed windows. The splayed embrasures of the latter have dressed scontions and deeply plunging sills and the narrow round-headed opes are chamfered externally. The chancel arch is of two orders; the outer arch has a roll-moulded arris and a slightly concave face moulding filled with a row of pellets. It is supported by jambs, deeply wrought into engaged colonettes with moulded bases and scalloped capitals. The inner arch is chevroned on both faces and the soffit has a well-preserved lozenge pattern filled with a stylized flower motif. The lozenges alternate with sections of convex fluted moulding and the entire design is outlined by a double line of filleting with lateral spurs in alternate panels. The arch rests on plain jambs of square section and both pairs of jambs spring from a narrow shelf continued eastwards along the N and S walls of the altar recess. The altar recess had a gabled roof externally, now completely collapsed, and internally it was spanned by a barrel vault. Only a ragged section of the vault remains and a small beam recess on the S wall probably supported the wooden centering on which it was raised. The surviving sections of the N and S walls preserve the splayed W ingoings of 2 opposed windows with deeply plunging sills. The lights were set in round-headed embrasures, now almost entirely broken away. As at Cormac's chapel, these may have given little more than reflected light to the interior (Leask 123-4). Shortly after its construction, the altar recess was replaced by the present chancel. It seems rather curious that the earlier structure was not entirely removed. The widening of the chancel rendered the opes obsolete as windows and their plunging sills can hardly have rendered them serviceable as niches. However, the extant portion of the barrel vault gives the effect of deepening the chancel arch, an effect apparently deliberately sought by the designer at the W doorway at Cashel (Leask, 117). The Chancel: The chancel measures 5.72m E-W x 5.1m N-S externally and was constructed without antae. The walls stand to full height and sections of the stone roof, lower than that of the nave, survive. The best-preserved section, adhering to the E gable, indicates a roof with a steep external pitch but with a more gentle curve on the interior. The roof springs externally from a chamfered eaves course returned along the NE and SE quoins to support a projecting barge course carried to the apex of the E gable. Burials in the interior have considerably raised the ground level (1.72m above the base of the W doorway), and a large overground tomb abuts the NE corner. The chancel measures 4.95m E-W x 3.53m N-S internally and was lit by a round-headed E window, set externally in a chamfered recess. The light, 1.51m high x .2m wide, now lacks some of its dressings and the plunging sill on the interior has been broken away. The ope was set in a round-headed embrasure with splayed rubble ingoings and dressed scontions. The rear arch was raised on wooden centering supported in 2 small square recesses just above the springing line. Two carved grotesque animal heads project from the wall face at impost level on each side of the window. A chamfered string course crowns the N and S walls and is interrupted at the E end of the S wall by the round-headed arch of a large window embrasure. The latter has dressed scontions and splayed ingoings now partly broken away and the light is completely defaced. Gable Ornaments: The W gable of the nave and E gable of the chancel are crowned by heart-shaped stone finials. The former, set in its original socket, has projecting side wings and two D-shaped panels inscribed on the upper part of the W face. That on the E gable measures .46m in height and has similar but more elongated panels on its E elevation. Both this finial and the cross which now stands on the gable over the chancel arch have been recently placed here by the OPW (Harbison 1970, 54). The stone cross is roughly equal-armed with slightly widened terminals to the head and shaft. A cross, inscribed on the E face, has expanded and deepened terminals. See attached photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle